Randy Nelson just scratched one more item from his bucket list: He finished the entire HOT ROD Power Tour® in his ’23 Ford roadster. The tour ended in Michigan, but he kept on truckin,’ heading to the East Coast to finish off one helluva vacation with his family. Power Tour® was its usual, casually brutal self, challenging hot rodders with long miles between stops and oppressive heat and humidity mixed in with a few downpours here and there to keep things spicy. The retired firefighter from Umatilla, Florida, motored through it all with a smile on his face. The smile might have come from all the attention the No. 6 car received.

2/10Randy Nelson built this roadster from a pile of parts, but it’s registered in Florida as a ’23 Ford. The rolling stock consists of Wheel Vintiques wires: 15x6 up front with 165/80R15 Michelins and 15x8 out back with 265/70R15s.

The roadster is the latest in a long line of Randy’s project cars, and it was built from scratch at home in just two years. He began with two sticks of 3x11⁄2-inch rectangular tubing, an early ’60s Sprint Car nose, a fiberglass tub from American Track Roadsters, and a vision of whipping the roadster around turns while the roar of a Slant Six filled the air. Randy built the Six himself, which, by the way, sounds like a weed wacker on alcohol. The chassis is all him, as well as the suspension, bodywork, paintjob, seats, and everything in between.

It’s not a period-correct piece, and that’s by design, because pleasing the hipster crowd isn’t the point of this car. It’s got disc brakes, powdercoated hardware, and everything else a nostalgia Nazi would thumb his nose at. It’s never seen the track and likely never will. Randy prefers to drive it to the grocery store, weekly cruises, and of course, the long haul of Power Tour®, with a grin plastered to his face as fans admire his oddball hot rod.

Driving Impressions
At 1,700-ish pounds, Randy’s roadster is zippy, rides well, stops OK, and is a hoot to rail around the corners. The modified Slant Six is a perfect match for this car, and we cruised effortlessly at 75 to 80 mph on the highway. The steering is quick, and that’s a good thing because we had to avoid the fenders of those sharing the road with us when their gaze lingered a bit too long on the sexy profile of the rod.

6/10The 8-inch rear axle came from a ’70 Maverick, and Randy machined his own pilot bushing to mate the ’95 Mustang T5 tranny to the Slant Six. Pro Shock coilovers control the ride.

There’s not a lot of room for a pair of 6-footers in this roadster, and if you’ve got long legs and big feet, you’ll end up resting your left foot on the firewall behind the clutch pedal once you’re up to speed. But the homebuilt seats are mighty comfy, the T5 shifts easily, and one can’t help but grin when driving this overgrown go-kart. Randy is 6 foot 4 inches, so the steering wheel is purposely mounted right near the chest of a normal person so his knees fit behind it when he’s driving. A quick-release wheel hub is necessary for entry and exit. Once you get past the ergonomics of the roadster, you really start appreciating the simplicity of its design. The interior is sparsely decorated, and other than working the turn-signal lever, gas pedal, and clutch, there isn’t much to do other than enjoy the ride and keep your hat from blowing off.

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